Don’t get me wrong: I love Victorian Lace Today to pieces, evidenced by the scarf after scarf I keep cranking out using its patterns. And I’m far from done! There are so many more gorgeous patterns in it that I’m dying to knit up.

It’s just that VLT set the bar so high. I have been itchy and anxious – can something, anything, rival this beauty? This extensive research, this breadth of patterns, this gorgeous photography? And let’s face it – it’s been two years since VLT, time to see a new face on that bookshelf!

Once I heard that Nancy Bush would be coming out with a book devoted to Estonian lace, I thought, here’s a contender for a new favorite! No hesitation, pre-ordered it at Amazon, plus hunted down every bookstore and LYS within 20 miles. And… I may have overdone it, because now I have two! Keep reading to see how my overzealous nature can benefit you!

I’m not going to declare Knitted Lace of Estonia “a new favorite” because it’s actually quite different from VLT, complementing it rather than replacing it. Well, the level of historical and technical detail contained in both books is similar.

KLE starts out with an extensive history of Estonian knitting, specifically as it developed in the coastal area of Haapsalu. We learn that, “Estonians had no written instructions for their patterns – the techniques and designs were handed down from one generation to the next.” Reverse engineering was common practice as women shared their knitted samplers. Shockingly (to me, at least!), knitters used lightweight wooden needles with rounded – not sharp – points. Oy! An accomplished knitter, we’re told, could complete twenty to thirty shawls during the quiet winter months.

As far as historical techniques are concerned, we learn that the square shawl is the stereotypical shape in Estonian knitting. It is usually comprised of a center panel and an edging, knit separately, and then joined together with a length of yarn and a sewing needle. Actually, the edging is made out of two identical pieces. Don’t worry – there’s no quiz at the bottom of this post and a diagram on page 31 :). Triangular shawls and rectangular shawls or scarves also exist, though they became commonplace a bit later, around the 1930s.

A note: Even though square shawls are the most traditional, KLE contains patterns for 9 rectangular shawls/scaves, 3 triangular shawls, and 2 square ones. Makes me very happy (I’m still kind of done with triangular shawls, especially if knitting for myself). The patterns call for laceweight or fingering weight yarns, and I would rate all of them as suited for the intermediate or advanced knitters.

The chapter devoted to specific Estonian stitches pretty much blew my mind. It’s by far my favorite! The nupps, the fancy decreases, the “take 5 stitches together then make 5 new stitches” (I am not making that up!) add amazing texture and dimensionality. It’s what makes Estonian patterns so unique and gorgeous! For a process-knitting junkie like me, it’s the sound of angels singing. Aaaaaahhhh! Let’s not even talk about the delightfully-extensive charts spanning whole pages. Oh my!

All of those techniques are useful in deciphering the “Estonian Lace Stitch Dictionary” at the back of the book, which contains 25 center panel repeats and 13 edging variations. If you want to design your own shawl, you can mix and match those options using the guidelines laid out in the initial chapters.

Last, but not least, the book contains detailed information on blocking and finishing, including how to tug each stitch of the lace edge to open it up (should your OCD tendencies take over… as surely mine will). Look at the edge of the goldenrod scarf below to see what I’m talking about.

And now, please, help yourselves to the gorgeousness in the extended entry. You won’t regret it ;). Click on any photo to view a larger version, and then let me know which one(s) is or are your favorite in the comments!

At random, I will select one person from the comments to receive a free copy of this book! (the one I duplicate ordered – D’oh!) One entry per person, please, and I will close the comments on Thursday evening, 10 p.m. EST. ETA: Comments have now been closed. Thank you for playing!

Reader Interactions

Comments

Oh man! My favorite is the 6th picture down (dark haired woman in red shirt with folded scarf)! Second favorite is the 3rd pic down (another red shirt). I seem to be more drawn to rectangular lace objects than triangle lace objects for some reason…These all look beautiful though.

Oh, lovely! The middle one on the left is my favorite – do snowdrops grow on vines? I don’t think so, but if the did, they’d look like this. (The border between the body and the edging looks sort of odd to me, though.)

Too beautiful to choose! But if I must, my favorite would be the first…so light and airy. I was recently married and still have wedding on the brain…I think this would make a special bride a very special wedding shawl.

Beautiful! I just got inspired to continue working on the Estonian Garden shawl I’m working on as a wedding shawl for my friend (never mind the wedding was a year ago…). I’m still intimidated by the nupps to come, but perhaps a copy of the book will help!

So gorgeous! I love the look of Estonian lace, especially the nupps. So . . . so interesting! If I were to make one, it would probably be the yellow scarf, as I’m definitely a beginning lace knitter (whoo eyelets! go mesh stitches!), but I would definitely have a lot of fun with this book–I do love a fiber instruction book with a meaty historical section.

It’s really hard to pick a favorite because they are all so beautiful! I really like the white one that is second down on the right, but perhaps the one I like best the the very last, pink one. I would like to make a rectangular shawl next, and either one of those would be wonderful! Thanks for the preview!

Oh dear, gorgeousness. I actually just started my first “lace” project, so this is hardcore inspiration! I love the flowers, but I’m going to have to say that the top right one is my favorite–soo pretty. =)

My favorites, row 1 right and row 3 left, because I can see myself making them. For simple beauty, row 1 left. Thanks, Kathy! Can’t wait until you start blogging about your progress. Your lace entries have been among my favorites.

I really like the pink-ish one at the bottom right hand corner. I, for one, don’t like triangular shawls (fine for otherse, just not for me – I only like rectangular), so this sounds like a wonderful book for a person like me. Especially since I haven’t knit a lace shawl for myself yet. Thank you so much for the review!

EL4, row 1, column 3. I could totally see adapting this into a loose, airy cardigan that would be perfect for early fall with a cardigan, when you need light during the warm of day, but something to keep off the chill once the sun goes down.

I kept clicking on the pictures and thinking, YES! This one is my favorite. I do love the second one down on the left, and the fourth one on the left, oh, and the huge square one at the bottom. The book looks and sounds wonderful.

Oh, this is so difficult. Although the the scarf is a bit obscured in the photo, I think I like the third one down on the right. The model is wearing a red shirt, and the scarf is a camel/brown colour. I have the perfect yarn for it!

Oh. My. Goodness. I *love* Estonian lace. I knit Laminaria (from Knitty) which uses a lot of Estonian techniques and loved every second. I think my favorite from the photos is the red one! Such a great color.

I like them all, but I have to say that the first one (top left) is my favorite! I have this on my Christmas list, so I have been good and I haven’t purchased a copy for myself. But winning a copy in a contest is not cheating at all!!!

Me me me me ME! Want to know why? Well, we are just having an exhibition at our library. There are real, wonderful shawls from Haapsalu to be admired there! They´re all white and beautiful, and they´re knitted of very, very thin yarn. They´re supposed to be thin enough to be drawn through a ring, the shawls! That´s amazing. Want to participate, as I would love to have that book!

Thanks for offering the book. It looks wonderful and challenging. I really like the second shawl on the first row ( the beige one). It looks so ethereal. Next favorite is the first shawl on the second row (white with red dress). The vining leaves are really nice. I don’t know if my knitting skills would be up to doing any of them yet but they are inspiring.

Thank you SO much for posting these pictures! I’m in a state of near-worship of these lacy beauties. My favorite is: fifth down (white shawl, dark blue tank top). If I do not win the book, I will HAVE to buy it. :o) What an awful problem, eh?

My favourite is the third from the top, on the left. The pattern reminds me of the delicate white bells of lily of the valley with their wonderful spring smell, stems and all. I like the soft, rounded shape too of this piece.

The main stitch pattern in first photo appears to be similar to one Evelyn Clark used in her Estonian Garden pattern. (http://www.fibertrends.com/viewer/patterns/S2009.html) That was my first project using laceweight and I had to give up on the nupps. It looks like there are a few projects in KLE that will be nupp-worthy (esp. the last one photographed), so I’ll have to try again.

Thanks for the detailed review of KLE. I bought VLT after reading your glowing review and hope to get a copy of KLE soon.

This book needs to be my next purchase! VLT is my favorite book, one of two I brought with me when I moved to Japan recently. I love the technical discussion and diagrams from VLT, and can’t wait to get my hands on this one too!

My favorite is the red one. But they are all gorgeous! Can I just say though…how can these women have possibly knit 30 shawls in one winter with rounded needles! I have trouble finding time for one with pointy needles! At any rate, thanks for the review on the book–I may have to add it to my Christmas list!

I saw proofs of several pages back in August, and saw a few days ago that there were project pages set up on ravelry, and I can’t possibly pick a favorite. I’m a sucker for patterns that look like lily of the valley, so of the ones you’ve shown, I’d say the first, fourth, and fifth, although the middle one on the bottom is also fantastic.

*flails* I’ve recently developed a love for nupps, with their little pebble-texture, and all of those shawls/scarves are completely gorgeous! I’m particularly enamoured with the very last photo, but all are beautiful.

i can’t believe i forgot to preorder this book! all of the patterns are lovely, but i especially love the fact there are a number of rectangular stoles. wow. i can’t stop obsessing…lucky you! can’t wait to see what you make. 🙂

My favorite is the center square pattern in the last row. That would some effort to make I’m sure. I’d love to win a copy 🙂 I’ve been eyeing it for a while. Will have to go on the xmas list I think. With the continuing drop of Canadian $ in the exchange I won’t be buying a copy for a while….

I’m so much more a rectangle gal than a triangle gal. I’m with you on that for sure. When a good friend was telling her mom that I knit (her mom is an AMAZING knitter) she asked if I knit lace – I guess that’s a bar to be measured by!

I like the top one on the right, the light brown “shawlette” and the third from the top on the right with “sprigs” and “bluebell” bobbles. I’ve never liked bobbles, but on that shawl and several of the others, they are so delicate.

#1 favorite: First shawl-Silvia (el3 by your label). Then followed closely by 2nd down, 2nd column (el6). I have my eye on this book, too. I love lace knitting, especially this intricate stuff. Thanks.

Oh. My. God. I had heard about this book, but didn’t have the foresight (or the finances) to pre-order it. Now I have seen it, and it is breathtaking! I, too, was very impressed with VLT and have been waiting for the next “it” book– living ten minutes from Lacis has certainly helped take the edge off, though. 😀

Any one with the nupps that look like lilies of the valley–we had some in our yard when I was little, and I loved them. They were in my mother’s signature perfume, and though she is gone now, the scent lives in my memory. I would love to knit one of those shawls as a remembrance. Thanks for the opportunity to perhaps win the book! Love your blog, too.

Oh, I so want this book! We got one copy in the shop where I work, but a customer snagged it before I could.

Of the pictures above, I particularly love the branching leaves pattern, first in the second row of pics. It has enough variety that it wouldn’t get boring to knit and it could be worn as either a scarf or a shawl. Major love. 🙂

Thank you so much for reviewing this book. I’ve been harrassing my LYS looking for it, and by the look of the pictures you posted, it will be worth the wait. Mmmmm, lace. I can’t wait to see what happens once you begin–you’ll wow us all, I’m sure. As for my favourite, I can’t choose just one. I narrowed it down to the top left photo, and the centre bottom one. Thank you for putting your “spare” up for grabs.

i love the *idea* of gigantically lovely square lace shawl, but i think, of the pictured ones, i like the very first one best. only i probably wouldn’t do the nupps (are those nupps? or just denser areas of knitting?). you turned me on to nany bush’s sock books, thank you very much (i do mean that), and now you’ve got me drooling over this one. the collection of mix-n-match patterns, particularly–i’m a pattern-hoarder. would you believe my library doesn’t carry this book?!

3rd one down, on the left. The white one modelled by the girl with a braid. It’s beautiful. What a lovely end to my birthday! I guess it’s no longer my birthday… since it ended 30 minutes ago. :o) But I will say it is and call it a night.

I like them all. But since you asked us to choose just one I choose the red scarf. I have been fantasizing about the scarf like that for a while; I just did not get to the point to make one (it’s brewing 🙂 Really great tradition in Estonia! Especially when I think of the fact they did not have written directions I admire their spirit and tradition. Enjoy your knitting!

They are just spectacular! I love the red shawl (EL10), but I’m not sure that it isn’t just because it is a fantastic colour! I think my favourite is EL8 though, above the red one, which she is wearing a bit like a scarf. Thanks for the review!

I think I like the red scarf best — but it’s really impossible to pick just one. That choice is probably based on the fact that the red is a perfect rustic color — I can just see the scarf being a treasured belonging for an Estonian farm girl.

Having some Estonian blood in me, of course I have Nancy Bush’s other Estonian Knitting book. But, I’m not really a sock knitter and mittens are usually overkill in California so I have been greatly looking forward to this book. Now I can do some heritage knitting for gifting to family members. I’m trying to hold off buying it so that it can go under the Christmas tree — but this blog post just made that bit of self-control a lot harder.

How did Nancy Bush go and make all those nups sooo pretty? I’m usually not a nups fan, but I’ve got to check these out. I’m torn, between the regularity of the first row, left and the slight waves of the second row right. I prefer rectangular shawls so I’d have to modify it – bottom row, center is my favorite.

They all look gorgeous, but I think I like the fourth (second row, second column) one best… I like the way all the lines seem to be curved, not straight, and the way the nupps (they’re nupps, right?) make the yarn almost seem to glow…

I dearly long for this book. It’s not available through Amazon.co.uk at this time so I’m waiting a little while longer before searching it out through other channels. Nancy Bush is the best (or one of them).

i am making one of hers from lace style(lily of the valley) NOW- she is totally brilliant! and i recognize madli’s shawl (bottom right) – which i also made and loved. guess i need this book. the square white is my new fav!

These are unbelievably beautiful. I am literally in tears looking at all these beautiful shawls. My favorite stitch of all time is lily-of-the valley. Look at all those nupps! (squeal) Thanks for letting us preview the book.

The large square shawl, EL12 is wonderful and would make a fantastic christening shawl for a very special baby. I’d probably leap straight into EL5, though – because that too is lovely and looks more immediately achievable.

I love the 6th down. I’ve taken a little break from lace knitting since stretching myself on my first project and am really getting the bug again. Thanks for the taste of this book, it looks like wonderful book.

I love looking at all of the lace. I have been wanting to try to knit a lace shawl or stole but have been a little afraid to tackle such a project. I have been looking for something to catch my eye before I start since it is such a larger project. Definately want something you are going to love to knit. I have knit lace scarves but nothing big enough to cover a person. Love the Square one bottom center. Reminds me of my greatgrandmother she always had a shawl or wrap lying around, she loved tatting and crochet.

You’ve already succeeded in making me ache for lace (I now have a copy of VLT to prove it!) Now this?!? They are all so gorgeous. I’ve spent a fair time looking these over, trying to concentrate on the pattern rather than the color, and I believe my favorite is the very last one; bottom row, right.

I really like the two you mentioned as your favorites, but I also adore the very first picture. I love the way it flows. I actually have some kidsilk haze in a beautiful silver color that I think is destined to become a shawl from this book!

Wow – hard to pick! I like the top right corner one – so cute! But EL8 and EL10 catch my interest too. I do seem to prefer something smaller. Good to know as I’m itching to choose and make my first real lace project. Thanks for the inspiration.

I love what I see so far of this book! Looks like a wonderful combination of historical detail and gorgeous knitting. I’ve made about 6 shawls of various patterns and difficulties and am anxious to knit a few new ones from this book!

Of the pictures shown, although it’s hard to choose just one..I like the last picture, the pink stole design. I love that there are nupps, which I’ve never done before, and I like the level of detail in the knitted border.

Second down on the left; if I wasn’t a hairs-breadth from done with my wedding shawl, I would be knitting this one. Actually, the one I’m almost done is a Nancy Bush shawl from Lace Style. It always comes back to Nancy Bush, doesn’t it?

I’d have to say that my favorites are the first, the last, and the second to last. Although the second to last looks HUGE! o.O I’ve not tackled lace shawls so I can only imagine how long one of those would take…

I love knitting lace! Now if I could just convince my 2 daughters that, yes, shawls are great for young 20-someones to wear, I’d have it made. I can’t wear all the things I want to make. (I like the last one.)

Jeez, how am I supposed to pick just one favorite?!? I didn’t think I was particularly interested in this book when I first read about it elsewhere, but now that I’ve seen some of the patterns I’m smitten. Especially with that pale pink one in the bottom row…

The very last one on the right is my fave – I just love the edging, and the braided, alternating look to the main pattern. I also like #7 and #5, though it’s almost too nuppy (can I say that?) – I like the shape and the overall plan. Nancy Bush has never let me down. Enjoy!

Hmm, the top left, no wait, 2nd row right, no middle row left, no, oh I don’t know. All? I’ve been fascinated lately by beads and lace and am interested to see how the nupps in these work as sort of non-bead beads.

the mustard-y yellow one, last row, left, though all of them look amazing! i’ve been spinning lace weight singles and getting better at it. now that i have a super-fast set-up for spinning, i have plans to make a laceweight two ply!!!

Wow, the pictures are gorgeous! I’ve always wanted to try the lily-of-the-valley pattern with the nupps at the flowers… I have VLT, too, and couldn’t agree more – it’s a gorgeous book. I can’t wait to see who wins your book! 🙂

Oh my goodness! Sign me up for the drawing!! I’ve entered a lottery to get a place in her class at the Madrona Fiber Festival in February. This whets my appetite even more. Oh, and if I do win, I will be out of town over the weekend, so don’t give my copy away if I don’t answer right away. How’s that for positive thinking?

Oh, the red one jumped out and called to me, it is a great combination of style and color. I still have lots of VLT scarves on my queue (with yarn purchased for some of them) but these look like fun to try.

Thank you for posting some pictures of the pieces. I have been stalking this book for a while, but I too really like VLT….so I was hesitant to buy before I saw something other than the front cover! Happy knitting.

The fourth row, I like them both. I don’t so much like the square shawls (they always look awkward to me when worn), but I love that there is edging on all 4 sides – my only complaint about the rectangles. Maybe I’ll have to figure out how to cut down a square to a rectangle. Beautiful patterns, thanks for enticing us.

They are all breathtaking. I have had an urge to do lace lately. I have only every done 1 lace project (used dk weight does that count?). My favorite is the beautiful scarf on the bottom left. I love everything about it including the colour – perhaps it would be a good first lace-weight yarn project.

I really think the two examples in the second row have gorgeous detail, so they are my favorites. I have been itching to embark on a lace project for awhile now, so I find your post extremely inspiring.

I think I like the white one to the left of the red one the best. (Actually, I really love the one in the lower right-hand corner, but it looks like a reprint of Madli’s Shawl to me, so I’m picking one of the new patterns.) Thanks for the review–I’ve been dying to take a look at this book.

They are all stunning! Thank you so much for sharing the pics. I have two skeins of lace weight silk I have been hoarding while waiting for this book to be released. I cannot decide on a favorite, although #3 and #6 were the first to catch my eye.

There are several that catch my fancy – but the simplicity of the red one is holding it the longest. I would love to make that for my sister. If I don’t win the extra copy, I may have to break down and buy yet *another* knitting book

My favorites are the last 3 photos. The mustard because it is not fussy, but sublte and the colour is lovely. The great white square because it is a beautiful pattern I have never seen before and I love it’s delicacy; And the last one because of the very light pink shade and the sweetness ad fragility of it.

goddess goodness, Surprise Girl; who then do you consider an “expert” knitter? you set the bar mighty high! “wonderful wonderful” i can’t pick a favorite, but i would start with that goldenrod yellow one; that’s about my speed.

Well, I thought I loved the sort of lily of the valley like pattern in the top half of the pictures….but then I saw the really big white one (center bottom)….can we say over the top romantic, opulent, luxurious? I have a weakness for excess.

Bottom center, by a narrow margin, though bottom right comes close and they are all lovely. I love the interplay of direction and texture, and those two really showcase it. Also – fascinated by the comparison of #4 and #5, which apparently use essentially the same pattern stitch in a different orientation – one worked symmetrically and the other half-dropped. Sort of similar to the old Lily of the Valley pattern. Yup, definitely time to spin more laceweight.

My favorite is the 6th one down, the woman with the red.. I am really not the “filmy” shawl type. I like my shawls with substance, and make them with heavier yarn than specified often. They are just bigger when done and warmer!

I am drooling over this book. I will have to wait to buy it til the drooling subsides.

Have been looking for an appropriate design for my daughter’s bridal veil – the white shawl over the pink cami (3rd down on the left) is definitely in the frontrunning. It reminds me of Lily of the Valley, which she will carry in her bouquet.

Thanks for the sneak peak. I’ve been waiting for this to come out as well, looks like it’s been worth the wait! I love VLT, although I still haven’t made anything from it. Some books just never lose their fascination because there’s so much to absorb from them, each time you look you notice some other detail. This looks like another such book, I can’t wait to see it in person!

Absolutely the 10th picture, which is the cover picture. I absolutely adore it! It has such grace, and in that ivory I could imagine wearing that for my wedding. (Don’t tell my boyfriend, we’re not engaged yet! But we’ve been dating for coming on 3 years, so it’s about time I started knitting a wedding shawl!) I really love them all though. So many of the others would be so lovely to knit. I can’t imagine knitting 30 a winter though. I’d be happy if I got through one!

Gorgeous book! Thanks for sharing all of the pictures. I immediately went to KnitPicks and Amazon to look inside the book, not realizing that you’d given us some photos at the end (KnitPicks had none, and Amazon only one so I’m glad you shared!)

I have to say that my favorite is the pattern of the very last one (pink), and the second to last one is a close second (though I can’t see me wearing that one – I wouldn’t know what to wear with it).

Oh oh. WHICH one?? How can I decide? I’m initially attracted to the 1st one and also the 4th (?) one, where you can see the woman’s back and she’s holding her arms behind her. WOW. Absolutely breathtaking!!

Wow! The engineer in me (realistically it is more like the me in the engineer) needs this book regardless of the fate of the random number generator. If pressured I would have to say 1 and 6 call to me first.

I think the center one on the bottom row is my favorite. I love square shawls, and this pattern is absolutely gorgeous. Even better – no leaves! (I am tired of leaves in the center of shawls after recently completing several with this design element.) How will you choose which one to start on first?

All of the patterns are exquisite, but I do like the looks of the rectangular shawl in the second row, on the right. The pattern looks like lilies of the valley and it’s charming. I do love having the history of patterns – wearing something that is knit in the same manner and with the same pattern as something knit several hundred years ago certainly reminds us that we are connected to the past and not all that far removed from it.

What an amazing book! So hard to know what to gravitate to first. I’m so grateful to all the women who knit(ted) in Estonia and to the inestimably wonderful Nancy Bush. Thank you for an excellent review.

I adore the one on the model in the red top — gorgeousness personified!! (the scarf, not the model, though she’s lovely, too.)

Just completed my first ever lace shawl and I am hankering for more. For the first, I chose Syrian Lace from VLT — it’s on blocking wires now, taking up my whole bed, and I will be casting on tonight for a new one. I think I’m hooked!

Although I look at new techniques more as a challenge than a stumbling block (it’s the scientist in me), Estonian lace still scares me. I can’t imagine having the talent to design such complexity, much less “reverse engineer” it! My favorite is the 3rd down on the left, with the lily of the valley nupps – my mom’s favoite flower – she would love it!

I adore the big square one on the bottom row. It reminds me of hardanger embroidery. Although I’d probably knit the pink one, the goldenrod one or the beige one that is worn over the red shirt, first, since I’d be more likely to wear them (or find a wearer!)

Thanks for the review. I knew this book was coming out but hadn’t paid much attention – it’s now officially on my want list!

So much pretty! I find the one in the upper left corner very attractive, but that’s possibly just a few TOO many nupps for me ever to want to knit it. I’m loving the one in the bottom right corner, and I’d like to see the yellow scarf laid out to reveal the full pattern just because the shapes look so unusual. And for sheer heirloom my-great-grandkids-better-still-be-fighting-over-this WOW, the great big beauty at the bottom center.

Bottom center. I love how the taut geometry becomes softened and organic with the addition of nupps- and,conversely, how the typical lily of the valley is rotated around itself to create those larger, blossoming crosses.

Darn, the picture’s not loading for me. But, I got to take a class from Nancy a couple of years ago, and so have been initiated into the gloriousness that is Estonian lace. Does that mean I can still enter? 🙂 Love them nupps!

They’re all gorgeous, of course, but I think I like the 6th one (el8.htm) the best. Maybe it’s because it’s knit in a slightly heavier yarn that it appeals to me more. I definitely prefer rectangles and squares to triangles. I’d love to try one.

I know exactly what you mean! I wandered into the LYS yesterday to drop off some charity hats, and they mentioned a new lace book on the table… not OMG THE AMZING NEW LACE BOOK IS IN that I would have prefaced it with! I have, of course, immediately cast on for the first shawl! So, I don’t need a second book, but I wholeheartedly agree with your sentiments!

Ooooh, I’ve been waiting for this to show up in my LYS. I’m having a hard time deciding between the second on the left and the 4th on the left (numbers 3 and 7), but I just finished the Lily of the Valley stole from Lace Style, so I’ can wait a little while for more nupps.

I’ve been a loyal reader for more than a year, I just haven’t written much to you in return.

The fourth picture, the rectangular one with nupps (I’ve mastered the nupp for my swallowtail shawl – someone told me to pull out the stitches a little with a dpn, awesome!) It’s gorgeous. And so is the square one at the bottom, what an awesome christening blanket it would make!

Delurking to comment because I haven’t been able to find this book yet and I was considering ordering it online from the US. I fell in love with Estonian lace after knitting Laminaria and now I can’t get enough – although there’s no way I’ll be churning out 20 or 30 shawls this winter! Love your blog by the way!

I have been waiting for a comprehensive review of this book. ALL the shawls are lovely, but I am not a huge fan of real pointy triangles either, so the third one down on the left really intrigues me – love the shape of it.

Wow, what a gorgeous book! The nupps on everything are really fabulous. My favorites are the rose-brown one on the top right, and that gorgeous rust-orange scarf. I’m a sucker for color…while I like the white ones, I’m sure I’d be a lot more drawn to them if they were rendered in some saturated jewel tones. That’s why I’ll definitely be getting this book!

I think they’re all lovely, but for me the second from top, right side…….it sorta strikes me a bit odd. My mind sees the design as a bunch of fake wind-up type teeth running across the poor woman’s back! Or, I suppose it could be that I’m tired and working hard at not allowing the cold that is trying to overtake me. LOL!

The white square in the middle of the bottom row–the X pattern is just awesome. I’m altering the 21×25 scarf from VLT into a shawl for my grandma, and my friend has asked for the Lady’s Circular Cape in Shell Pattern. I’m going to be knitting a lot of lace this winter!

They are all so beautiful. As much as I hate making nupps, I love the way they look, so I’m always will to suck it up! I find the 5th photo–the sort of rounded triangular shawl to be quite charming. I like the shape and the edging. Very dainty and feminine!

I think for me it has to be the red shawl, fourth row on the right. I love the fern leaf effect the pattern makes. (I am allowing myself to hope that you might knit all of these so that we can see closeups and get your insights into their construction! they look fascinating…)

Wow, they are all so beautiful! My favorites is the 4th down on right but that might be because of the yarn/color! Does it have “googlie mooglies”? Runner up would be 2nd down on left. Thanks so much for including us!

all of them are wonderful; i can even see past one of them being pink to notice it is lovely. but the one jumping up and down begging me to knit it right now (as in start as soon as i get home from work if i only had the pattern since i have some only ply cobweb from lacis) is the square one on the bottom row. wow. wow.

I share your enthusiasm for the book – I’ve been waiting almost a year for it to come out. I happened to be at my LYS when they were delivered and struggled to maintain dignity while waiting for the box to be opened.

In a stroke of luck likely to never again befall me, last Saturday I found myself in a class taught by Nancy Bush. She brought all the shawls from the book with her so we could see them up close. They are all stunning, to say the least. My favorite is the Queen Sylvia.

Apparently the book is selling fast and will likely need a second printing.

Ohhhhhh me oh my!!! You are such an enabler, I love it. I am also a huge fan of VLT, but this new book seems to be a great find. I think I am most partial to VL6, but the last one (the pink) is also very lovely. Thank you for offering up your duplicate copy.

I can’t decide which I love more between two of the them – the triangular white one with all the swoopy curves and the nupps (third from the top on the left) and the very last one in the lower right – I love how the nupps complement the interlocking leaves on that one.

I always associate being in a yarn store to a child in a candy store — but the preview of these patterns is the visual equivalent! Been reading about the book …. and know some of the patterns from magazines …. Initial favotire – the third one — beige on the red dress …

Oh heavens these are beautiful! My favorite is the first one. I have three daughters and perhaps if I began now I could knit them each one of these for a wedding shawl (they’re only 7, 10 and 12) if they married late in life. Recently I purchased a copy of The Gossamer Webs Design Collection of Orenburg lace shawls. The pictures of those also left me breathless, but the charts are rather intimidating. I can’t believe that people used to knit these works of art without patterns.

I’m enchanted by the one on the left, second row down. I can’t wait to get this book!

I had two days of classes with Nancy Bush last year. She brought several hand knitted items (socks, gloves, mittens, and shawls) from Estonia to sell as part of her Estonia Project (she sells the items for her knitter friends in Estonia to people in the US, thereby earning those knitters a much better price for their handiwork) and I bought a lovely triangular shawl in a buff color. I couldn’t resist wearing it to class the next day, at which time she realized that there was a stitch pattern in the shawl that she wasn’t certain she had documented for the book. (She was putting the finishing touches on her book at the time.) So, at the end of the day, we sat down with the shawl and she puzzled out how the stitch was done. It was quite thrilling to sit there next to her and hear her talk it through!

I like the one in the third row, first picture. It has a sort of spanish feel. I am anxious to make something in lace but haven’t had the nerve yet. I also took a class from Nancy Bush last year at Stitches West. She is very nice and a good teacher I really enjoyed it. I would love the have the book just to read, (as I do a lot)

{{gasp!}} Choose? CHOOSE?? How are we supposed to choose from these glorious creations, I ask?!? Would “all the above” count? I don’t know that I can wait for the end of this contest to get my own copy! And when I get it, I’m going to knit every freaking shawl IN there! My poor spinning wheel may not see me for awhile. Unless it’s to make lace-weight 🙂 You have inspired me to get it as soon as possible. Heck, I had NO idea this book was out! Where’ve I been?!? Guess I need to poke around on the ‘net more. That, or pay more attention to the books on my LYS’ shelves! Thanks so much for sharing these pictures, Kathy!

Oh, I’d have to say the square one in the middle of the bottom row. It’s divine, but then, they ALL are!!! You’re so right about VLT. I still look through it nearly every day. It’s never on the shelf, but hangs around my house to give me inspiration in the middle of kid-crazy days. It’s amazing how much a little bit of pretty can help. 🙂

I have a tendency to be over ambitious when thinking about knitting projects – a tendency I’m trying not to give in to, and seeing those scarves and shawls is not going to help me (but thank you for the eye candy!). Nor is it going to help me get through the other projects I have in progress/lined up at the moment. Maybe if I can just wait until after Christmas…or maybe I can claim that my other projects want to hiberate after to last night’s snowfall!

The third one down, on the right, is by far my favorite (so hard to choose though, all lovely) as it reminds me of lily-of-the-valley flowers, my favorite and birthmonth flower. Good luck choosing your first project, as I’d be hard-pressed to start with casting on for just one!

I like the mustard scarf – probably the only one I consider myself qualified to knit right now! Proper lace isn’t something I’ve got to yet (been knitting almost 2 years) but it is something I really want to try. I’ve done lace socks (monkey) and some lace scarf (not finished) but these are something else!

The moment I saw this book I was stunned by the cover design…also center on bottom row. My love for this is still strong even after seeing more offerings…which are all quite delightful. I can’t wait to get my copy.

Thank you for the review of this book. In the last year, I have become fairly obsessed with knitting lace, and made my first shawl-a wedding gift for a friend). I can’t wait to get a copy of this book! I think, for this moment, my favorite is #6.

I adore the shawl on the book cover, but the ones I would immediately knit are the more scarf-y, practical ones: the yellow scarf first, and then no.6 (beige on red sweater). And the last one might be adjustable in width…

Just wanted to add that I love your blog for its technical content as well as the beauty of your creations.

Those are beautiful! I look forward to seeing what you end up knitting from it. I have several of Nancy Bush’s sock books but (perhaps naively) didn’t realize she wrote about lace as well. My favorite is #8, the rust-colored one. Thanks for the contest!

My favorite is the one in the second row on the left. I normally hate nupps (my first experience was with addi turbos, I like the better with sharper needles), but in this case the nupps look like little berries and I just love that.

The first one is really lovely. I think it would see a lot of use, and probably be fun to knit, too. I’m sort of bowled over by the second to last one though — the enormous square shawl — that would be a huge and wonderful endeavor to undertake, I think.

Who knew there were so many cool ways to use nupps? I like the one on the left, third row down. I haven’t seen this book anywhere. Guess I’m going to have to “prompt” my local big box. And the big LYS two hours away from me.

Since you like this book so much, you should go down to the Public library branch at Copley and check out “Silmuskudumine” by Claire Hallik. Lots of Estonian charted patterns; my recollection is that most of them aren’t lace, but if you use a large enough needle and a thin enough yarn, almost anything can be lace. Also, if you do an internet search on Silmuskudumine you can find a Russian blogger who’s scanned the entire book, and who has also posted oodles upon oodles of German knitted lace patterns. (Why there are no Orenburg “platki”, I don’t know)

I think if I had to pick a favorite, I would go for the square one at the bottom. The border pattern looks like so much fun to knit!! That’s only if I had to pick, though…’cause let’s be honest – they all look fantastic!

Hi Kathy! Thanks so much for the info on this book and the gorgeous pictures! My favorite is the brown one on the right hand side on the first row. I am petite and I like shawls that are not bigger than me (I can be little clumsy when in heels, lol) and this one seems to be a nice size for someone of my height that will compliment any outfit. Thanks! Rosalia

It’s so hard to pick! But the big square shawl in the center of the bottom row gets my vote — the combination of the translucence of the body of it, plus the openwork, plus the solidness of the nupps, really speaks to me.

Wow, They are all stunning. You are an amazing knitter, Very inspirational. I would love to have the patience and attention span to knit lace. The red shirt with the tan one is my favorite. I wish you had a picture of it all spread out. I love the edging and the way the knit looks like a peice of fabric. Jess

My first thought was that the model was wearing a silk negligee and the wrap was an heirloom – a part of her wedding lingerie (how old fashioned of me!). The look is totally enticing. Now I, far beyond the negligee and lingerie time of my life, have already convinced myself to buy the book and knit the wrap – and wear it over something delicate and silky.

OMG Nancy Bush has a new book! I love everything I have by her. They are my go to books. I love the dark orange scarf #8 and the bottom left hand mustard orange one. They both look like things I would wear often.

Wow! Those are absolutely beautiful! I’d love to make them all. I am especially intrigued by the 3rd down on the left, the white one with the flowing pattern that reminds me of spring flowers about to bloom. Possibly freesias? I love the border on the one next to it and the red one below that… One could stay busy for months, years even!

The big white square shawl (10th) is absolutely wonderful! It is a perfect shawl for Estonian bride, especially when it is a winter wedding, considering those cold Estonian winters. The shawl is just stunning. (But I don´t like the yellow one, it is not a typical Estonian shawl … wrong yarn)

I love #8, the red one. I love that it’s more of a stole/scarf rather than a shawl, yet it can wrap around your shoulders and keep you warm and looking beautiful! I think this one would be the first I’d make from this book! (p.s. Thanks for allowing us to be the benefactors of your overzealousness!!!!)

Although they are all beautiful, I love the big square shawl in the middle of the bottom row labeled el12, with the big X’s in the border. One of the things that I like about the Estonian lace that I’ve seen is it looks so crisp and precise, something that is not always easy to achieve in lace.

oh my! i am speechless! these shawls are so incredibly beautiful. if i had to choose my favorites, they would be #5 because of the graceful shape and #3 because of the leaves and the arrangement of the nupps. thank you for your generosity!

A favorite? Third one down, right hand column. But, what a difficult choice. I’m looking forward to seeing your finished projects from this book. I tend to enjoy looking at the the pictures and dreaming.

I love your blog. Your work is amazing. Regarding the posted pictures, all the shawls are gorgeous but I’m in love with the lace work from pictures 6 and 8. By far those are my favorite. Keep up the good work.

This little contest has certainly brought us all out of lurkdom!!! I am entranced by the edging of #6. I think that any and all lace books are intermediate to advanced. Beginners should not be coaxed into lace unless we want them to quit knitting!

I love the middle one on the bottom row. If you used a little bit thicker yarn it would make the most beautiful blanket to wrap yourself up in during the winter months and looks like something that could be really interesting to make!

Although I like patterns for triangular shawls, I myself am not a huge fan so KLE sounds like it has potential. (I am a VLT junkie…looking longingly at the pictures often even though I haven’t made many of the projects.)That said, I like the shape of el7, triangular but more rounded, almost a semi-circle. If I don’t win, I may have to track down my own copy. Thanks for sharing!

I just read a review of the book on Amazon. The reviewer said that the designs might be too monotonous for the serious Shetland lace knitter. I was glad to know that I’m not serious enough to be bored by these beautiful projects. I like the third one on the left with the curved back, plus all of the scarves. And the edging on the Madli shawl is so lovely.

Thank you for the review… I hadn’t heard of this book before, and now I have added it to my “books to acquire” list. I’m really fond of the brown shawl with the diamonds that you have pictured. I know you aren’t feeling the triangular shawls, but I am really drawn to that one.

I love when you have book reviews; there are so many knitting books out there, it is nice to get a better feel for the contents before shelling out the cash for one!

I love, love, *love* that large square white shawl on the bottom center. The solid portions almost look like linen. So delicate! Absolutely gorgeous. Enjoy your new book, and the adventure of knitting those lovely lace pieces!

wow — 700+ comments. I’m delurking here to say thanks for all your blog postings and patterns you offer. My 27 year old CA daughter thinks your jaywalker pattern (which I am making into a scarf at the moment) is “beautiful” (high praise from a picky dresser)!

And the shawls above — I’ll take (from left to right) # 5 …. now off to Amazon.com to see if they have it in yet!!

I’ve just started #5 (the white triangular one) which was previewed in “Piecework” magazine [Jul/Aug 08]. It may be at the outer edge of my skill level, but I just LOVE it. However, I’d say that #8, the red scarf, just might the one I’d try first from the book. I, too, have been anxiously awaiting publication. Nancy Bush is fabulous.